Best Albums of the 1990s

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Explore the best albums of the 1990s, based on over 2 million album rankings across 60,000 charts. Last updated: 2 hours ago

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1990s decade summaryThe best artists of the 1990s were Radiohead, Nirvana, The Smashing Pumpkins, Neutral Milk Hotel, Oasis, Pearl Jam, R.E.M., My Bloody Valentine, Nick Cave and Björk.

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31.

Pinkerton

Weezer

"I think the reason why Pinkerton was panned when it was released was because the feelings it evokes are almost the exact opposite of those on the Blue Album. Even some of the darker songs from the Blue Album, like "The World Has Turned", were still fun to just sing along to, and you could play it...""I think the reason why Pinkerton was panned when it was released was because the feelings it evokes are almost the exact opposite of those on the Blue Album. Even some of the darker songs from the Blue Album, like "The World Has Turned", were still fun to just sing along to, and you could play it whenever you wanted. Pinkerton, on the other hand, is supposed to be shocking; Rivers licking a fan's envelope and imagining her masturbate to him is a lot weirder than his younger self pretending to have sex with his ex in bed. With that said, people also didn't like Rivers' reactions to the rock life style. Many people would pay for all the sex he says he's tired of. They don't see why he's trying to get in his relationships, and their opinions are made even lower by the fact that he can't keep them. Of course, their's the aforementioned fan mail licking. What probably makes people's opinions of Pinkerton so low, though, is that Rivers, or at least the narrator of each song, has no confidence. Nobody likes someone who lacks confidence, and to most people it comes to no surprise that Rivers has all these failures in relationships. One could argue the mood of the album changes entirely once "The Good Life" starts playing. Yes, Rivers still has his girl troubles, but he approaches relationships with much more confidence than before; the pain he might get from a bad or broken relationship doesn't faze him. He then finally gets the girl in "Falling For You", but loses her just as quick as he got her in "Butterfly". All he can say is that he's sorry for being this guy who wants a girl's love but can't give it back, for being selfish. This song sums up the message of the album: If you're looking for true love, you can't just fantasize about it; you have to go out, find it, and give it to someone. The songs reflect the character of each half of the album. The first half is noticeably more dark than the second and the tracks are harder to get into. Even long=time listeners may not be at ease when those songs are playing. Still, this half of the album is great because Rivers managed to pull off this unsettling mood perfectly. The second half takes its character from Rivers' new found confidence, and thus it makes perfect sense that all the singles are on this side. People who listen to Pinkerton for the first time will, almost certainly, connect with this half better than the first. Personally, I'd argue this stretch of songs is the best that Rivers has ever written. I think what makes Pinkerton so amazing is that it does so many different things so well. It catches the listener off guard and talks about the keys to finding love while still having those great hooks and riffs that Weezer is known for. You can't go wrong with the pure fun of "El Scorcho", one of the best rock choruses ever in "The Good Life", the epic finale of "Falling for You", the acoustic beauty of "Butterfly", the sheer despair of "Across the Sea", the pure pop of "Why Bother?", along with whatever else these tracks have to offer. On a final note, after listening to Pinkerton I can understand why Rivers doesn't make music as good as he used to: he doesn't want to make another album about him being unable to deal with fame. You can tell by just reading his lyrics that making this album was emotionally taxing. He just wants to make his album and tour, then go back to his family. As long as I have the Blue Album, Pinkerton, and the occasional good Weezer song like "Pork and Beans", I'm okay with that." Reply

Happy | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +23 votes (23 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

1996

Appears in:

1,101 charts

Rank Score:

9,302

Rank in 1996:

Rank in 1990s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

32.

"One of the definitive albums of the 90's, a genius work of hip hop/electronic music. It samples jazz,hip hop,electronic,funk, etc and sounds like all of them and nothing like those genres. One of those records that sounds like nothing before it and nothing since. "Midnight in a Perfect World" is ..." Reply

- | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +5 votes (5 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

1996

Appears in:

996 charts

Rank Score:

8,793

Rank in 1996:

Rank in 1990s:

Overall Rank:

157

Average Rating:

84 (1,135 votes)

Comments:

33.

MTV Unplugged In New York
Live

Nirvana

"The thing that makes this a great album as opposed to just another unplugged best-of jam is that it demonstrated Nirvana's talent once they were out from behind their mask of noise. It is also an endearing insight into Kurt's own self-consciousness, and how it could be subdued by his ability to i..." Reply

Strangel | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +4 votes (4 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

1994

Appears in:

1,083 charts

Rank Score:

8,731

Rank in 1994:

Rank in 1990s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

34.

"I love this album. The angst and anger are essential listening for a troubled adolescent. Just try not to commit suicide listening to it, the entire album is negative and dark. You have to be in the right state of mind to listen to it. But it is a classic, one you can listen to the whole way thro..." Reply

- dk2852 | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +11 votes (11 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

1994

Appears in:

996 charts

Rank Score:

8,675

Rank in 1994:

Rank in 1990s:

Overall Rank:

161

Average Rating:

82 (1,260 votes)

Comments:

35.

Superunknown

Soundgarden

"The closest thing that commercial Hard Rock was into jazz and psychedelic heavy stuff. Not only one of the best grunge albums of all time, Is one of the best rock albums of all time. It's a little shame that is so underrated above the other Grunge bands... The phenomenal different and weird tunin..." Reply

- MiltonAda99 | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +4 votes (4 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

1994

Appears in:

982 charts

Rank Score:

8,496

Rank in 1994:

Rank in 1990s:

Overall Rank:

166

Average Rating:

81 (1,239 votes)

Comments:

36.

Different Class

Pulp

"There is a saying...why arguing about who is better Blur or Oasis, when everybody knows that Pulp is better then both of them..." Reply

- STesic | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +6 votes (6 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

1995

Appears in:

953 charts

Rank Score:

8,348

Rank in 1995:

Rank in 1990s:

Overall Rank:

172

Average Rating:

82 (1,070 votes)

Comments:

37.

Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain

Pavement

"If you look up "cool" in the dictionary, you will find only a photo of Steve Malkmus kicking Lady Gaga in the balls, while simultaneously shotgunning a six-pack, and receiving fellatio from a trio of Japanese schoolgirls. Also, he is playing guitar." Reply

- | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +6 votes (7 helpful | 1 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

1994

Appears in:

939 charts

Rank Score:

8,215

Rank in 1994:

Rank in 1990s:

Overall Rank:

177

Average Rating:

83 (1,165 votes)

Comments:

38.

Laughing Stock

Talk Talk

"Still has not aged a day in the slightest. "After the Flood" is probably the most epic song on the album, starting with an enigmatically quiet introduction, then exploding into pure bliss. You don't even need to understand the lyrics, because everything else will move you. This album sounds much ..." Reply

- lostshadow | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +4 votes (4 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

1991

Appears in:

787 charts

Rank Score:

8,102

Rank in 1991:

Rank in 1990s:

Overall Rank:

179

Average Rating:

83 (918 votes)

Comments:

39.

Blood Sugar Sex Magik

Red Hot Chili Peppers

"Some musicians are just meant to play together and Blood Sugar Sex Magik is the perfect example of this. The Chili Peppers had to go through a lot of lineup changes before they finally found their ultimate incarnation, the one who proved to be their most inspired and composed as a group, an absol..." Reply

- chivocosmico | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

1991

Appears in:

1,127 charts

Rank Score:

7,916

Rank in 1991:

Rank in 1990s:

Overall Rank:

185

Average Rating:

79 (1,776 votes)

Comments:

101

40.

Dirt

Alice In Chains

"One of the defining Grunge albums of the 1990s." Reply

joedec | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +6 votes (8 helpful | 2 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

1992

Appears in:

894 charts

Rank Score:

7,486

Rank in 1992:

Rank in 1990s:

Overall Rank:

200

Average Rating:

82 (1,169 votes)

Comments:

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Total albums: 1,000. Page 4 of 100

Best Albums of the 1990s composition

Year	Albums	%

1990	85	9%
1991	83	8%
1992	105	11%
1993	104	10%
1994	127	13%
1995	102	10%
1996	109	11%
1997	98	10%
1998	102	10%
1999	85	9%

Artist	Albums	%

Neil Young	6	1%
Blur	6	1%
The Flaming Lips	6	1%
Radiohead	5	1%
Yo La Tengo	5	1%
Alice In Chains	5	1%
Sonic Youth	5	1%
Show all

Country	Albums	%

	533	53%
	270	27%
	39	4%
	28	3%
	23	2%
	16	2%
	12	1%
Show all

Compilation?	Albums	%
No	985	99%
Yes	15	2%

Live?	Albums	%
No	981	98%
Yes	19	2%

Soundtrack?	Albums	%
No	992	99%
Yes	8	1%

Best Albums of the 1990s chart changes

Biggest climbers Biggest climbers in top 100 since last month
Up 3 from 83rd to 80th The Chronic by Dr. Dre
Up 2 from 100th to 98th Elliott Smith by Elliott Smith
Up 2 from 90th to 88th Emergency & I by The Dismemberment Plan

Biggest fallers Biggest fallers in top 100 since last month
Down 2 from 79th to 81st Summerteeth by Wilco
Down 2 from 80th to 82nd To Bring You My Love by PJ Harvey
Down 2 from 87th to 89th American Football (1999) by American Football

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